Thieves hit sick teenager

Cure Kids had been good to Korbin O'Keefe, said mum Julie Darwin. Photo / Getty Images

A Levin teenager battling a debilitating heart condition was devastated to find thieves had ransacked his room and stolen his most treasured possessions while he was out of town meeting the All Blacks.

Korbin O'Keefe, 15, had a heart transplant last July after spending his whole life on medication and undergoing open-heart surgery three times to treat a congenital heart condition.

An ambassador for children's charity Cure Kids, Korbin had been in Auckland on Wednesday to undergo a cardiac biopsy and meet the All Blacks at a special function where the team named Cure Kids as its charity of choice. But when he returned to Levin the next day, what he found in his room made him "really angry". "My PS3 was gone, everything was gone in my room," he said.

Korbin's mum Julie Darwin said the thieves had stolen items from around the house, including food from the freezer, but had mostly targeted Korbin's room. She said all the things that made Korbin happy were gone - including his computer, his PlayStation and the games that kept him going while he was confined to bed.

"That was his escape from the reality that he had no choice but to live in ... and who has the right to take that escape away from him?"

The items were insured but the invasion of privacy had taken an emotional toll.

"Things in life are replaceable and we're not materialistic people, but these were necessities for Korbin because he has never lived the life of an average teenager," said Darwin. "This hurts. He's scared that it's going to happen again, I guess.

"This kid has had to fight so hard and the very few good things in life that he does have, without somebody even thinking, they've just come and taken that from him."

Darwin, the sole carer for Korbin and his two younger siblings, was also worried about infection from germs the thieves may have brought with them.

"[Korbin] has to live in a healthy, sterile environment. It's just horrible."

The family was also reeling from the news this week that Korbin's health had taken a turn for the worse. He will be returning to Auckland for more treatment.

"We have been going really well, but it's not so good at the moment," Darwin said. "We'll pick ourselves up again and the transplant team are the best people to be helping us, so they manage his health very well.

"We know that we have a long road ahead of us, but we have light at the end of the tunnel now, whereas prior to the transplant, we didn't."

Cure Kids invests in medical research into heart disease and organises events like Walk on the Wild Side, a 5km charity walk that Korbin and his mum took part in last November.

Darwin said Cure Kids had been wonderful to Korbin. He had "a ball" meeting his All Blacks heroes and seeing the Rugby World Cup trophy last week.

Korbin returned to school this year and was studying towards his NCEA exams.